France Mobilizes 97,000 Security Forces for Christmas Holidays

The French government has mobilized 97,000 police, gendarmes, and soldiers during the Christmas holiday season due to concerns over the threat of attacks by radical terrorists. According to the Associated Press, these forces will be deployed in markets, shopping centers, places of worship, public transport, and tourist sites. Gérard Collomb, the French Minister of the Interior, stated in a press release that these 97,000 security personnel have been engaged to ensure safety on Sunday and Monday, the 24th and 25th of December. Of these forces, 54,000 are police officers, while 7,000 soldiers and 36,000 gendarmes will also participate in securing the Christmas holidays. In addition to securing the Christmas celebrations on Monday, the Ministry of the Interior noted that additional forces have been stationed around places of worship during the Hanukkah celebrations, which began earlier this month, and similar arrangements are being made for Orthodox Christmas celebrations in January to ensure these events occur 'under appropriate conditions.' A new anti-terrorism law allows Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, to enhance police capabilities to counter terrorist attacks similar to those that occurred in 2015 and 2016. France has faced multiple terrorist attacks over the past three years, including an attack by Islamist extremists on the Charlie Hebdo office in mid-January 2015, which resulted in 19 deaths, including two police officers and several journalists. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for this attack. On November 13, 2015, a deadly attack in Paris, claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS), left 130 dead and dozens injured. On July 14, 2016, a truck driver attacked a crowd in Nice during the Bastille Day fireworks, killing at least 84 people; the perpetrator was a French-Tunisian citizen.